Social Media for your Business: Facebook

Love it or loathe it, no business can afford to ignore Facebook. REALLY… I hear you sceptically say to yourself? Yes really. 2.5 MILLION Irish people are on Facebook every day which makes us Irish one of the most active users of Facebook in the world! And if that isn’t a staggering enough figure, 1.9 million users are accessing via mobile phones and they spend 47mins per day each on Facebook and checking newsfeed 14 times a day!

77% of online women use Facebook. This is hardly surprising, as we tend to find ways online to do the same things we do offline and as Facebook is a predominantly social platform women are naturally more attracted to it.

Age wise, 82% of online adults aged between 18 and 29 use Facebook. This drops to 79% for the range 30-49, drops again to 64% for the 50-64 age bracket and just 48% of those aged 65+ use the platform. (Source: Pew Research Centre, 2015)

Increasingly people are also using Facebook to search for something they want to buy which can take many businesses by surprise. Only Google is a more popular search service.

With figures like these, Facebook is simply too big for any business, small or large to ignore.

Facebook is predominantly used by people, rather than businesses. This is partly due to its structure, where people have profiles and businesses have pages. (Please, please tell me your business has a business page and you’re not using your own personal profile page for your business??)

Facebook pages interact on the platform in an entirely different way, which means that businesses are less likely to spend time on Facebook. In addition, interactions on Facebook tend to be less formal (just think of what’s in your own newsfeed!) and businesses, as a result, would tend towards the more professional LinkedIn as an alternative. Businesses who sell to businesses (B2B), therefore, are less active on Facebook than those who sell to consumers (B2C).

But that doesn’t mean any business can afford to ignore Facebook, having a Facebook page is essential.

Seven Good Reasons to Use Facebook for Business

No 1.It allows your business reach a huge amount of people it may not have before.No 2. Businesses can sell 24/7 even if the bricks & mortar shop is closed.No 3. Use it for cost effective advertising No 4. Test new products/services/advertising without heavy investmentNo 5. From a marketing point of view, it gives your brand reach
No 6. It can help with your Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). No 7. As social media is first and foremost a way to interact with your customers, if you are sharing relevant and interesting content, it can allow you to connect and communicate like never before.

So does your business have a Facebook page? And if not why not? If you want to ask any questions about using Facebook in your business just comment below or send us an email

With my background in Marketing, Communications and Design my skills are put to great use in managing marketing campaigns, designing everything from logos and business cards to pull up banners and maximising social media promotion